Page 11

changing contexts

provide freedom and opportunity, but it is also a force that destabilizes

society by undermining long term commitments.

56

post Christendom

The emergence of a network and consumer society coincides with the

demise of Christendom.

What is taking place is not merely the continued decline of organized

Christianity, but the death of the culture that formerly conferred

Christian identity upon the British people as a whole. If a core identity

survives for Britons, it is certainly no longer Christian. The culture of

Christianity has gone in the Britain of the new millennium.

57

Much of Britain's self understanding comes from centuries of Christian

faith, but many in Britain now have minimal knowledge of the Christian

faith. The Christian story is no longer at the heart of the nation. Although

people may identify themselves as `Christian' in the national census, for the

majority that does not involve belonging to a worshipping community, or any

inclination that it should. Many people have no identifiable religious interest

or expression. Among some young people there is little evidence of any

belief in a transcendent dimension. During the twentieth century Sunday

school attendance dropped from 55 per cent to 4 per cent of children,

58

meaning that even the rudiments of the Christian story and of Christian

experience are lacking in most young people. Our multicultural and multi 

faith society reinforces a consumerist view that faiths and their differences

are simply issues of personal choice, to be decided on the basis of what

`works' or makes you happy.

The consequences for a national church, used to operating among people

and institutions on the assumptions of Christendom, are acute. The Church

of England bases a significant part of its identity on its physical presence 

in every community, and on a `come to us' strategy. But as community

becomes more complex, mere geographical presence is no longer a

guarantee that we can connect. The reality is that mainstream culture no

longer brings people to the church door. We can no longer assume that we

can automatically reproduce ourselves, because the pool of people who

regard church as relevant or important is decreasing with every generation.

The Church has got to realize its missionary responsibilities. We live in 

a society, whether that be urban or rural, which is now basically second

or even third generation pagan once again; and we cannot simply work

on the premise that all we have to do to bring people to Christ is to ask

11